How To Create Dynamic Stories Using Social Media To Build Brand Personality?

A narrative explaining the brand, why it exists what the brand specifically stands for is said to be a brand story. A brand story communicates the business vision and what drives the marketers to pursue it regularly. At the time of creating and running campaigns and creative visuals across social media channels, the brand story serves as the basis. Having a brand story is of incredible significance in growing the audience base and getting connected with potential clients. The three elements included in the brand story are the brand values, the brand purpose and the unique selling propositions. 

How Powerful Is Narrative Storytelling For Social Media? 
Coming up with a compelling brand identity on social media is all about creating a narrative transcending the traditional method of posting content approach to social media and connecting with audiences on a deeper and more emotional level. Apart from being only entities, brands are the storytellers with social media being its canvas where they can speak. Creation options are unlimited, hence narrative storytelling on social media even provides limitless possibilities. 

How To Understand The Emotional Connection Through Storytelling? 
Emotional connection fostered with audiences is to be explored to understand how important is narrative storytelling. In humanizing brands, storytelling experts and brand strategists stress the impact of narratives. To evoke emotions of joy, empathy and inspiration, the brands share authentic and relatable stories. Likewise, a profound connection with audiences is created. Narratives that showcase a brand's products and services while embodying its values and ethos. Being a potent force, this emotional resonance transforms passive followers into engaged advocates who foster brand loyalty.
 
How Should Storytelling On Social Media Platforms Be Done? 
Through Stories, brand personalities can be built up that can be easily connected with the customers. It is directly connected to storytelling.
Social media platforms have always been the biggest playground for trendsetters and for storytellers to thrive on social media, and to create good stories on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube; here are the ways: 

a. Facebook Storytelling
Facebook has made no limitations on the number of words on a post. An in-depth story is always welcome, other than summarized lines or a few key points. Longer Facebook posts or incredible stories work well to captivate an audience. When the audiences click on "See More", the post earns a significant engagement. 

b. Instagram Storytelling
Make a visually appealing Instagram profile. Portray an exciting story. You can become a visual storyteller. Refer to the famous "Rule of Thirds" to ensure correct and to-the-point photo composition. To create a completed and big visual, use 3, 6 or 9 separate images or videos. This is how your Instagram profile will stand out with a stunning look. 

c. Twitter Storytelling 
Having your hashtag is a great idea since it spreads your brand's story. It helps in collecting other people's stories in your community.  
The purpose is your followers have to understand your purpose through the hashtag and make use of the same in their tweets. So, effectively using hashtags with proper planning in social media storytelling on Instagram earns a lot of positive responses from the Twitter community. 

d. YouTube Storytelling
Videos are the future of marketing, since these capture people's attention more than the text content. Start with a series of videos about the company, customers, employees and similar interesting content for viewers. Videos should be of high quality and of shorter lengths. 

What Are the Best Practices To Build A Brand Story For Social Media That Resonates With the Audiences? 
To create a powerful brand story, you need to get into an involved process of tapping into audiences and determine what should be communicated. For crafting a story that will be resonating with audiences, these strategies should be followed: 

1.Understand Who Your Audiences Are 
First, know what the customers are interested in and what they are so passionate about. Understanding your audience is the key to developing a story resonating with audiences. The two key elements to knowing target audiences are - first defining the target audiences and then understanding what expectations they have from the brand they will be buying from. 
Realize the customer goals, interests and motivations by using data-driven methods so you can better adapt the story to resonate with audiences.
To better understand audiences, take the following steps into account: 
    • Interview your customers 
    • Start customer surveying 
    • Conduct social media engagement monitoring with your brand
    • Come up with buyer personas 
    • Start segmenting audiences into groups
    • Be sure to determine preferred interaction channels 

 2. Identify What Are Your Unique Selling Proposition 
The foundational element setting a brand apart from others is the unique selling proposition that highlights the value your brand is providing to audiences and the problems you are solving. A clear, specific and straight-to-the-point proposition highlights how your brand proves to be a better choice than your competitors. So, to get to the heart of the brand story's message to be communicated, understand and clearly define the unique selling proposition positions. 

 3. Always Keep An Authentic Tone 
Authenticity is forever important and buyers always value authenticity. So, your brand story should be grounded in truth that offers real value. Real anecdotes and personal experiences in an honest story are more likely to develop customer loyalty, which further aligns with the brand's values, mission and purpose. This brand story remains true to what the brand is all about. 

 4. Be Miles Away From Over-complications 
 Once the story is communicated, determine how it should be communicated. Never try to over-communicate and over-complicate the storytelling. The brand story should highlight the brand's how and why but the message behind the additional small details should be intact and clear. 

Follow these pointers when you are building your brand story: 

• Using Clear Terminology - You are creating the story for your audiences, and not stakeholders. Unnecessary jargon or corporate speech should be avoided to communicate it.
• Following Brand Voice - The portrayed voice and tone in the brand story should be aligned with the ones used across the other messaging channels. Then,  you can maintain consistency and get rid of confusion.
• Conveying the Key Message - Your story should communicate the unique selling proposition and what is making the brand special. 

5. Bring The Story To Life 
Visuals help in elevating the brand story by complementing the business message and creating an additional avenue for experiencing the same. Being story-relevant, the visuals help emphasize the main messages and ideas to resonate with the audience. These are a few visuals to be used for amplifying your brand story: 
    • Photographs 
    • Video content
    • Animations 
    • Social media posts

Choose the visuals based on what your audience should feel when they are interacting with your brand story. The colour scheme, the images and the overall design of the visuals must invoke the right emotions to drive the story to their reasoning.

6. Measuring the Brand Story’s Impact 
Similar to the brand messaging or strategy being rolled out, data collection is even a vital part of the brand story development process. When you measure the reach and interact with the new story, you can understand its effectiveness and come across the room for improvements. 
Consider these metrics to measure your brand story's impact: 

    • Social Media Mentions 
    • Social Media Engagement 
    • Paid Ads Clicks 
    • Conversions

7. Brand Story Incorporation Into Marketing Strategy 
After having the story straight, make it the front-and-centre functional part of your marketing strategy. This process is a valuable part of brand strategy that shapes your brand image. Start sharing your story through this avenue: 

    • Blog Content
    • Your Website 
    • On Social Media 
    • At Events 
    • In Promotional Videos 

Once you begin the art of storytelling on social media, then this mastered art will become an ongoing journey. The whole idea is about connecting with the audience on a personal level, sharing authentic self and bringing up narratives resonating with the audience. Continuing with refining storytelling skills,  realize which are your allies in the dynamic digital landscape - practice, creativity, and adaptability. Take the lead to tell your story and watch out for how your social media engagement is soaring.